verb (used with object), bit, bit·ten or bit, bit·ing.
- to cut, wound, or tear with the teeth: She bit the apple greedily. The lion bit his trainer.
- to grip or hold with the teeth: Stop biting your lip!
- to sting, as does an insect.
- to cause to smart or sting: an icy wind that bit our faces.
- to sever with the teeth (often followed by off): Don’t bite your nails. The child bit off a large piece of the candy bar.
- to start to eat (often followed by into): She bit into her steak.
- to clamp the teeth firmly on or around (often followed by on): He bit hard on the stick while they removed the bullet from his leg.
- Informal.
- to take advantage of; cheat; deceive: I got bitten in a mail-order swindle.
- to annoy or upset; anger: What’s biting you, sorehead?
- to eat into or corrode, as does an acid.
- to cut or pierce with, or as with, a weapon: The sword split his helmet and bit him fatally.
- Etching. to etch with acid (a copper or other surface) in such parts as are left bare of a protective coating.
- to take firm hold or act effectively on: We need a clamp to bite the wood while the glue dries.
- Archaic. to make a decided impression on; affect.
verb (used without object), bit, bit·ten or bit, bit·ing.
- to press the teeth into something; attack with the jaws, bill, sting, etc.; snap: Does your parrot bite?
- Angling. (of fish) to take bait: The fish aren’t biting today.
- to accept an offer or suggestion, especially one intended to trick or deceive: I knew it was a mistake, but I bit anyway.
- Informal. to admit defeat in guessing: I’ll bite, who is it?
- to act effectively; grip; hold: This wood is so dry the screws don’t bite.
- Slang. to be notably repellent, disappointing, poor, etc.; suck.
noun
- an act of biting.
- a wound made by biting: a deep bite.
- a cutting, stinging, or nipping effect: the bite of an icy wind; the bite of whiskey on the tongue.
- a piece bitten off: Chew each bite carefully.
- a small meal: Let’s have a bite before the theater.
- a portion severed from the whole: the government’s weekly bite of my paycheck.
- a morsel of food: not a bite to eat.
- the occlusion of one’s teeth: The dentist said I had a good bite.
- Machinery.
- the catch or hold that one object or one part of a mechanical apparatus has on another.
- a surface brought into contact to obtain a hold or grip, as in a lathe chuck or similar device.
- the amount of material that a mechanical shovel or the like can carry at one time.
- sharpness; incisiveness; effectiveness: The bite of his story is spoiled by his slovenly style.
- the roughness of the surface of a file.
- Metalworking. the maximum angle, measured from the center of a roll in a rolling mill, between a perpendicular and a line to the point of contact where a given object to be rolled will enter between the rolls.
- bite off more than one can chew, to attempt something that exceeds one’s capacity: In trying to build a house by himself, he bit off more than he could chew.
- bite/snap someone’s head off, to respond with anger or impatience to someone’s question or comment: He’ll bite your head off if you ask for anything.
- bite the bullet. bullet(def 7).
- bite the dust. dust(def 21).
- bite the hand that feeds one, to repay kindness with malice or injury: When he berates his boss, he is biting the hand that feeds him.
- put the bite on, Slang.
- to solicit or attempt to borrow money or something of value from.
- to press for money, as in extortion: They found out about his prison record and began to put the bite on him.
verb bites, biting, bit or bitten
- to grip, cut off, or tear with or as if with the teeth or jaws
- (of animals, insects, etc) to injure by puncturing or tearing (the skin or flesh) with the teeth, fangs, etc, esp as a natural characteristic
- (tr) to cut or penetrate, as with a knife
- (of corrosive material such as acid) to eat away or into
- to smart or cause to smart; stingmustard bites the tongue
- (intr) angling (of a fish) to take or attempt to take the bait or lure
- to take firm hold of or act effectively upon
- to grip or hold (a workpiece) with a tool or chuck
- (of a screw, thread, etc) to cut into or grip (an object, material, etc)
- (tr) informal to annoy or worrywhat’s biting her?
- (often passive) slang to cheat
- (tr often foll by for) Australian and NZ slang to ask (for); scrounge from
- bite off more than one can chew informal to attempt a task beyond one’s capability
- bite the bullet to face up to (pain, trouble, etc) with fortitude; be stoical
- bite someone’s head off to respond harshly and rudely (to)
- bite the dust See dust (def. 11)
- bite the hand that feeds one to repay kindness with injury or ingratitude
- once bitten, twice shy after an unpleasant experience one is cautious in similar situations
- put the bite on someone Australian slang to ask someone for money
noun
- the act of biting
- a thing or amount bitten off
- a wound, bruise, or sting inflicted by biting
- angling an attempt by a fish to take the bait or lure
- informal an incisive or penetrating effect or qualitythat’s a question with a bite
- a light meal; snack
- a cutting, stinging, or smarting sensation
- the depth of cut of a machine tool
- the grip or hold applied by a tool or chuck to a workpiece
- dentistry the angle or manner of contact between the upper and lower teeth when the mouth is closed naturally
- the surface of a file or rasp with cutting teeth
- the corrosive action of acid, as on a metal etching plate
Old English bitan (class I strong verb; past tense bat, past participle biten), from Proto-Germanic *bitan (cf. Old Saxon bitan, Old Norse and Old Frisian bita, Middle Dutch biten, Dutch bijten, German beissen, Gothic beitan “to bite”), from PIE root *bheid- “to split, crack” (see fissure).
To bite the bullet is said to be 1700s military slang, from old medical custom of having the patient bite a lead bullet during an operation to divert attention from pain and reduce screaming. Figurative use from 1891; the custom itself attested from 1840s. To bite (one’s) tongue “refrain from speaking” is 1590s. To bite the dust “die” is 1750 (Latin had the same image; cf. Virgil: procubuit moriens et humum semel ore momordit). To bite off more than one can chew (c.1880) is U.S. slang, from plug tobacco.
c.1200, from bite (v).
v.
- To cut, grip, or tear with the teeth.
- To pierce the skin of with the teeth, fangs, or mouthparts.
n.
- The act of biting.
- A puncture or laceration of the skin by the teeth of an animal or the mouthparts of an insect or similar organism.
In addition to the idioms beginning with bite
- bite off more than one can chew
- bite one’s nails
- bite one’s tongue
- bite someone’s head off
- bite the bullet
- bite the dust
- bite the hand that feeds you
also see:
- bark is worse than one’s bite
- put the bite on
- sound bite
Also seebitten.